Holiday In 2M Land

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We spent last week relaxing at the Galloway Coastline in the south west of Scotland. We had a very enjoyable stay at The Isle of Whithorn just 7yds from the sea.
Our accommodation was excellent on the Harbor row, which was only a stone’s throw away from the historic landing place of St Ninian
We visited this area for the first time three years ago when we stayed at the Galloway Astronomy Centre and have been revisiting as regular as we can, ever since. The area has lots of historic sites not to mention the stunning views, large empty beaches and plenty of wild life which for us makes up a great holiday.
One of our favorite beaches is at Monreith where there is one of Scotlands best kept secerets The Church of Kirkmaiden hidden away but easily found along with St Medana’s Well.

The Church of KirkmaidenSt Medana's beach at Kirkmaiden
During our many visits to the beach I was able to get some HF Mobiling done with the trusty Yaesu FT-100 on 20m, 40m and 80m with some great contacts worked with my recently acquired Hustler mono band antenna.I enjoyed the many QSO's and managed to get a few of the stations I worked in my log thanks to my YL Louise (M3TLL). Thanks! to all of you guys that came back to my call.

I also took my telescope and I spent some time watching the Buzzards look for their lunch. I tried to catch some pictures so you can see what I was looking at.
The little Ft-817 also got some use when I was walking around the Isle of Whithorn with Louise and our Dog Dudley. I could hear many Stations on the HF bands using the Miracle Whip however I think I would need some kind of miracle to actually get some kind of a signal out.
I did manage to make a local QSO on 2M FM with the FT-817 and Miracle ha ha Whip, which was fellow holiday maker 2M0IOB, who was about 10 miles away. Once again a good time was had by all and I got a few heads turning in dismay I as bellowed into the little rig whilst sat on the top of a large rock.

I returned home just in time for the IOTA Contest and managed to log 146 Stations during the 24hr contest from back home in the shack in Yorkshire. It was the first time I have taken part in the IOTA Contest and I really enjoyed the experience, the Set up at home worked well over the weekend as I managed over 70 Islands On The Air running low power 50 watts.

I am hoping to be fairly active on the HF bands over the next week as I continue to enjoy my Summer holidays. 73 have fun!

Comments

Unknown said…
I think It's time I visited that place . Hopefully round about the time that the ISS is due over. I'll bet I could get a really good shot of it up there where there is no light pollution. I have managed to get a few shots even with our amber sky's here in Keighley, but I'll bet on a good night up there you can see the milky way. Glad you are both back , I still have the mini manual for the 817 . hope to speak to you soon. Oh BTW Me and adam can be heard on 6 Mtrs 51.510 most nights now, please join us if you can.

Regards to Dudly from Baron
By for now 73 de M1PAC
10:43 am
Anonymous said…
Hi Simon, Sound like you and Louise had a really lovely time, Im so impressed that you managed to work so many stations over the week-end. Im changing QTH and have recently bought a SRC X65 from Snowdonia Antennas - Check them out!! 73's for now and if you would like a page on CornishConnect youre very welcome. 73
10:28 pm
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